So I am scrambling to get my entries out the door. One problem I see is this. I am shipping to Northeast regional comp. and the address is a dead give away of the contents! I have shipped beer by UPS before but never had the address clearly state HOMEBREW on it! I am picturing the transaction this evening...

"Contents of the package?"

"Gifts of homemade maple syrup."

"Umm, it says here on the label Home Sweet HOMEBREW, is there beer in here sir?"

"Uhhh..."

Anybody have any tips? Yes I have heard all the "yeast samples" and similar stories folks use. I find those get you into worse trouble. Then questions of biological "contaminants" and such come up. Glass makes them freak out too. Perfume and other liquids are apparently a no no as well, as I was warned when skirming with what to say the first time I shipped some beer.

Why so worried? As long as you aren't shipping USPS (postal service), you are NOT breaking a law. You may be skirting a policy, but IMO just setup an account with UPS or FedEx, print your own label and drop that puppy off with anyone, preferably some kid behind the counter. If you have already labeled the box with their label, no questions at all will be asked. If anyone does ask, just tell them they are yeast samples to be evaluated. If they won't accept the package, go somewhere else.

I've shipped several from with UPS that have said Homebrew Competition on them and not had any problems. I do my shipping label online and bring them to work for the UPS guy to pick up. You could also drop them in a UPS Dropbox if you do your label online.

Online where is says "My UPS" you can register for an account and pay by credit card.

Where in the NE Kingdom are you? There must be bigger drop boxes in St. Johnsbury. Sucks if it's a big drive but at least your beer will get there ( hopefully ).

what style(s) are you entering? I'm beginning to wonder if I should be offering help

Hah!

I am in St. J. and the only box I know of is downtown and it seems to only be big enough for the flat rectangular boxes and padded envelopes.

I just go directly to the source up by Lyndonville. Really a pain they are only open a couple of hours in the afternoon too.

Where are you at?

Best of luck. This is my first entry in the nationals so I am not too confident. Was not planning on doing so until my wife talked me into it at the last minute. You've got nothing to worry about helping me out.

I am in St. J. and the only box I know of is downtown and it seems to only be big enough for the flat rectangular boxes and padded envelopes.

I just go directly to the source up by Lyndonville. Really a pain they are only open a couple of hours in the afternoon too.

Where are you at?

Best of luck. This is my first entry in the nationals so I am not too confident. Was not planning on doing so until my wife talked me into it at the last minute. You've got nothing to worry about helping me out.

I'm in Southern NH but grew up in Windsor, so i know all about small town living.I sent my first entries to NHC last year, didn't advance but got some great feedback.Maybe this year I can do better. Good luck.

Thanks folks. That went wicked smooth since I found out you can print your label ahead.

I walked in with the label showing. Man grabbed it and said "All set?"

to which I replied "yup"

Package on its way, hopefully...

I did abbreviate the address as suggested earlier to Home Sweet HomeB. Looks like I ran out of line space but should not raise eyebrows. Of course, once it is in the system I don't think much gets scrutinized. Certainly not by the gorillas, er I mean, package handlers... I only say that because I was one for a short time. It is ugly what happens to those packages! Course it isn't really the workers fault. It is an insane, toxic (try working in a wharehouse full of idling UPS trucks with the doors closed!), mind boggling place to work and the expect a lot for a little pay.